Monday, March 8, 2010

The Challenges of the Sea

The twists and turns of life are blocked by ominous obstacles. A man climbing a mountain faces the bitter cold, harsh weather, and has to struggle up steep slopes. A student faces the challenges of juggling sports, schoolwork and friends. The obstacles in someone's path can seem to block the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's their choice whether or not to persist.Facing the disparaging challenges in your life shape your character, challenge your demeanor, and shape the way you live your life. The old man was no exception to the fact that lives are full of obstacles. He had to struggle and fight against pain, being old and alone on the journey, the daunting size of the marlin, and the threatening sharks.

Throughout the book the old man stayed strong despite all of the pain he had to endure. He sat in the boat, holding the weight of the fish on his line. “He was comfortable but suffering, although he did not admit the suffering at all” (64). The old man’s determination helped him to ignore the pain of his back and his cramping hand. Many people would succumb to pain and choose to let go of the fish but Santiago did not. “I must hold his pain where it is, he thought. Mine does not matter. I can control mine. But his pain could drive him mad,” (88). He stayed optimistic and convinced himself that he could deal with his pain to catch the fish of a lifetime. Santiago never even thought of giving in, instead he stayed persistent. His determination and willpower paid off, helping him to reel in an enormous fish even with the pain.

Santiago was an old man alone on a skiff, which immediately gave him a disadvantage in catching a fish of that marlin’s stature. “He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds and he had caught two of that size in his life, but never alone,” (63). The lonely, old man had very slim chances of bringing in a fish that big. His body wasn’t as strong as other younger men’s were and he needed all the strength he could get to reel in his catch. The obstacle of old age was inevitable and posed a serious threat. Santiago stayed confident in himself, despite the odds. He accepted his old age and lack of help and used all of the strength that he was capable of to succeed in catching the marlin.

The size of the marlin would be intimidating anyone. Reeling in and taking home a 1500 pound fish is an overwhelming task. He realized "...he was fast to the biggest fish that he had ever seen and bigger than he had even heard of..." (63.)Not only was the marlin huge, but it was even bigger than his skiff. Just imagining catching a fish of that size seems impossible.

The marlin was caught and secure and the hardest part of the journey seemed to be over, but once again another obstacle reared its ugly head in this novella; sharks. The appearance of the sharks broke the happy, accomplished mood the old man must have had and set him in a tense, practically unwinnable situation. “When the old man saw him coming he knew that this was a shark that had no fear at all and would do exactly what he wished,” (101.) The audacious old man still fought against the sharks, cleverly attaching a knife to the oar and trying to kill them. He fought with all his strength, punching the sharks in the head long after he lost all weapons and hopes of prevailing. The aggressive sharks tore away at the marlin, destroying what the old man had worked so hard to achieve. Santiago still faced this challenge no matter how bleak the outcome looked.

Obstacles are everywhere, some unbeatable and some easy to conquer. The old man faced both types of obstacles during his journey out at sea. He prevailed and failed, recognizing both as the way that life works. Facing challenges is an inevitable part of life, the old man being no exception. How people choose to deal with them is a whole other story. It’s not every day that people face the same challenges as the old man. He was challenged by old age, pain, the marlin's size, and sharks, which shaped and led him on the journey of a lifetime. The challenges that we have to deal with shape our lives and the adventures in them, which Hemmingway shows throughout the novella.

8 comments:

  1. 1. The essay's thesis is that the old man had to go through many obstacles in his life but he continued anyway. He had to deal with pain, loneliness, and sharks. It is clear and has specific points. It's engaging and well written.
    2. I think the example of the old man's strength was the strongest. It stood out because it was well-written and showed what the old man went through. The entire paragraph demonstrated Santiago's determination and persistence.
    3. I think the essay was organized well and was well-written. "The old man’s determination helped him to ignore the pain of his back and his cramping hand. Many people would succumb to pain and choose to let go of the fish but Santiago did not."
    4. Honestly, there isn't anything that I would change. It was very well-written and a is a good essay.

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  2. 1. The essay's thesis is that there are many obstacles in life that you have to overcome. The essay is fairly well focused on just the one subject, and is well written. The word choice makes it engaging, but it is slightly unorganized which throws the reader off.
    2. “He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds and he had caught two of that size in his life, but never alone,” (63). This was the best example in my opinion, it showed exactly what the paragraph was about. It stood out from the others because it is an interesting quote that provides a fact as well as something that really helps your point.
    3. I think the word choice and the writing styles are the essay's best trait. A lot of vocabulary words are used, and the writing styles keep the reader interested.
    4. I think the weakest aspect of this essay is the way that it is kind of clustered together and doesn't flow too well. At points in the story it is hard to read through because of this.

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  3. 1) the thesis of the essay is that there are many inevitable obstacles in out lives that he have to face. the thesis is clear because the whole essay is based on it.
    2) “I must hold his pain where it is, he thought. Mine does not matter. I can control mine. But his pain could drive him mad,” i thiought this was the best example of a struggle he face. it showed that he was really determines to catch and and that he was really persistent.
    3) the essay was well written and organized and had great choice of words. it was detailed and filled with examples.
    4) i dont think there is any weakness in this essay. its great!

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  4. 1. The essay's thesis is that there are always obstacles in life that you have to overcome. The essay stayed on topic, but I agree that it could have been slightly better organized.
    2. "He was comfortable but suffering, although he did not admit the suffering at all” (64). was my favorite quote. It really explains well how the old man is enduring through all this.
    3. Your word choice was great. I also liked how you vocabulary was very varied and interesting.
    4. The essay was kind of clumped together which hindered the reader's ability to read it easily. Adding some spacing can help solve that. Great essay!

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  5. The essay's thesis is that the old man faces numerous obstacles however, with determination he was able to pull through. It is very concise, and keeps the flow well. Quote: “I must hold his pain where it is, he thought. Mine does not matter. I can control mine. But his pain could drive him mad,” (88) "Sick" quote in my opinion, although, using that particular vocabulary is a little vague in describing my outlook on it, im sure you can comprehend where i am getting at here. The introduction was a job well done. I've never read anything as magnificant in introducting such a topic. I loved it because it held great amounts of examples within, showing the reader that you have knowledge on the topic. The weakest point would have to be the quotes. The integrating was moderate, and could be much more advanced with little editing.
    ~You are one amazing writer gal!

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  6. 1. The thesis is that people face situations nomatter who they are. If theyre rich or poor they face something. Just as Santiago faced many obstacles he still fought.
    2. I really liked the illustration she made about the hiker. This well portrayed what obstacles are like. Also that obstacles can hit anybody.
    3. The writing style was very good. I actually enjoyed reading it and it kept you entertained. You didnt just get pulled in by the hook and then got dropped. The story kept you enticed and made you want to keep reading. "A man climbing a mountain faces the bitter cold, harsh weather, and struggles up steep slopes. The obstacles in his path seem to block the light at the end of the tunnel but he continues" This illustration i liked the best it was very well thought up and it fit the situation.
    4. I didnt really see much that could be fixed maybe integrating some more quotes. Most of the essay was flawless though.

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  7. 1. The author's thesis is that the old man, or anyone for that matter, has to face tough challenges in their lives. No matter who you may be there are still challenges you must overcome.

    2.“He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds and he had caught two of that size in his life, but never alone,” (63) I think this is the best quote used in this essay. This shows that Santiago has faced this same obstacle before and has overcome it, but never has he done so alone.

    3.This essay used a great word choice to make the story flow better. The vocabulary chosen really did make a huge difference.

    4. The only improvement that this essay could use would be a rewording of the first 2 sentences. The rest of the intro makes sense but the first 2 threw me off a bit.

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  8. The thesis of the essay is that life is full of obstacles and it is clear because it is said clearly at the end of the introduction.

    "...he was fast to the biggest fish that he had ever seen and bigger than he had even heard of..." (63). This quote stood out among the others because it was the quote that supported one of the paragraphs the best.

    "The twists and turns of life are blocked by ominous obstacles. A man climbing a mountain faces the bitter cold, harsh weather, and has to struggle up steep slopes." The author used description very effectively in the essay in a way that catches the reader.

    I don't think there was a weak aspect in the essay but more description never hurt anyone besides Ernest Hemingway.

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